Will the new road plates LEGO 60304 retire soon?

[ks6349]

Will it retire soon? Do you think it will last for quite some years before another new generation of road plate is released?

[Lyichir]

It's possible that it might be replaced by a new assortment of the same type of road plates at some point (much like how older road plates had several re-releases over the years, some with major changes to their contents and some without) but I don't expect this new style of road plate to go away any time in the near future. Even if they had been an utter flop (and overall, I don't think they have, despite some AFOL misgivings), it's far too early for Lego to already have a replacement lined up.

Beyond that, there's lots of possibilities for the improvement and expansion of the new system, some minor (new prints or changes to the brick-built contents like streetlights and traffic signs), and some major (such as introducing new components for features like curves, or even changing aspects of the new plates like their connectivity without discarding the overall format). So I expect that whatever comes next is probably more likely to be evolutionary (continuing to build on the new road plate format) than it is to be revolutionary (radically shifting away from the new format to something like the old roadplates or to something completely unprecedented).

[The Island Chronicles]

I don't see those leaving any time soon given that they're being produced with newer sets. I used to be in love with the new road plate system. But now to be honest, I don't really care for it. I still wonder why they couldn't see road plates under the Lego Classic theme for people who still love to use them and I know loads of AFOLs who still love to use them. But I guess Bricklink and Ebay still exist for that reason. 

[Feuer Zug]

The new road plates appear to be a major element in the latest release of City sets. As the others mentioned, I don't see them going away soon. In fact, I foresee them being expanded on as @Lyichir prophesized. I have heard that some AFOL don't like them, but I do. I swapped out my old Classic road plates for the new ones and they work well. The ability to tailor road lengths and intersections to my layout is wonderful. Additionally, they're wider than the old roads and with extra tiles on the sides, can be expanded so 6-wide vehicles look appropriate on them with the centerline. Lastly, they make for awesome runways and airfields. I would like the ability to have curves, but if not, the 45 degree tiles could be used to make something work.

[Johnny1360]

Lol, I certainly hope they don't retire soon, that would be quite the bone head move on LEGO's part.

I am in the camp that actually prefers them, to the older ones, anyway. I instead hope that they add curves and other useful variations but retire after only one year availability would be incredibly short sighted.

[Maple]

Why would LEGO retire the thing they just released and are still used in City sets? 

[TeriXeri]

Xtra sold some weird products like cardboard roads and road tape but I don't see any indication of the current City road system changing anytime soon.

Road Baseplates were removed in favor of this new system and LEGO has already shown they can be used in other colors, so they have a lot of potential, including as terrain, docks, train platform etc.

 

 

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by TeriXeri

[CopperTablet]

I hope we get some curved ones

[Johnny1360]

I actually experimented with some leftover sticker sheet, hand cut pieces, to make a curved section, just taped some lines on the road plate. It was okay but it looked like what it was, lol.

[Lion King]

I mean, Road Plates were released last year and they are still used in City theme. 

Why would you think they would be retired so soon? Do you have any evidence? Like Brickset or what? 

[jus1973]

I can’t imagine they’ll go anywhere soon.  TLG has invested heavily into them, using them in numerous sets, as well as a road plates pack.  I initially was going to buy into these, however, have decided not to.  I have a modular town developing, and wanted to use them as roads, but found out they’re a tad too narrow for 6 wide cars/tracks so their cost was going to be astronomical.  Add to that, you’d need to get lots of spare tiles for joining them, as well as having to rebuild all my buildings onto regular plates, and raising them by at least 2 plates height, if not a full brick, just meant that they were not a good choice.

I’ve gone with dark grey Ikea table tops instead.

[Feuer Zug]

@jus1973 I felt the same way about the new road plates being a touch narrow for 6-wide vehicles. My solution was to add a single stud wide tile to each side. Yes, it increases the cost and complexity, but I do like them. Pushing up all my modular buildings and other builds by one brick was pretty easy and gives it a nice curb. Still, I can't blame you for going with what works best for you. The idea of dark grey Ikea tables is actually pretty good.

[Lyichir]

14 minutes ago, Feuer Zug said:

@jus1973 I felt the same way about the new road plates being a touch narrow for 6-wide vehicles. My solution was to add a single stud wide tile to each side. Yes, it increases the cost and complexity, but I do like them. Pushing up all my modular buildings and other builds by one brick was pretty easy and gives it a nice curb. Still, I can't blame you for going with what works best for you. The idea of dark grey Ikea tables is actually pretty good.

Adding an extra tile to either side works fairly well anyway since having a 2x4 tile to affix the road plates to adjoining plates adds that width to part of the road—so all you have to do is add 1x4 tiles to the rest to maintain that width.

[Feuer Zug]

Exactly what I do. And add copious grills to ensure the water runoff into the sewer system is covered.